Replica molding of elastomeric materials has proven to be an extremely useful new technology for the formation of complex microfluidic systems. Recent demonstrations of convenient methods for production of such systems by simple, rapid methods that do not require expensive fabrication facilities have enabled the extensive use of microsystems in research and development into a host of new application fields. This report describes a simple new method for fabricating active elastomeric components in microfluidic systems that is based on deformation of elastic materials that have been impregnated or coated with magnetic materials. Computer controlled miniature electromagnets are used to activate switching valves within microfluidics systems. Similar fabrication techniques can be easily extended to construct complex, and potentially completely integrated, microfluidic systems containing active valves, pumps, injectors, mixers, and flow controllers. Preliminary results indicate fabrication of channels approximately 200 m in width, with valves approximately 5 mm in size ͑including both valve chamber and valve actuator͒. The fabrication cycle time is on the order of one day using readily available benchtop equipment, and the valves seal hermetically against a 1.5 kPa back pressure.

The long-range goal of the Z-Pinch IFE program is to produce an economically-attractive power plant using

The phenomenon of intersample contamination in air-segmented continuous-flow assays has been studied for many years, and new uses are being found for these sampling techniques every day. One application that has been developed recently employs a flow cytometer to conduct high-throughput screening assays of biological compounds. We have explored the sources of intersample contamination in the system and shown how methods developed previously can be applied to describe these phenomena. Using a simple model, we were able to accurately measure liquid film thickness in the sample tubing and demonstrate the effects of intersample contamination in a flow cytometer assay. Also, measures have been taken to reduce the level of intersample contamination in cytometric screening assays, helping to make the system a more viable tool for drug screening applications.

Electroplated nickel can be used to fabricate miniature components such as gears, linkages, and other two-dimensional mechanical structures. This process produces excellent parts, but it is slow and somewhat expensive. Because cold spray produces low oxide-content, high-density deposits at a high rate, cold spray processing might be a viable alternative to electroplated nickel components. In addition, cold gas-dynamic spray can process materials, such as stainless steel and aluminum, which can not be electroplated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of cold spray nickel in the as-sprayed and heat treated conditions, then compare them to those of bulk nickel and electroplated nickel. Characterization of freestanding structures is subjective since the final product of any thermal spray process produces a material unlike any other material formed by conventional techniques. Specifically, this investigation determines the mechanical characteristics of nickel, through metallographic imaging and tension testing. Metallographic imaging showed that as-sprayed nickel has slightly more voids than the heat-treated structures. Tension tests of the as-sprayed nickel showed little plastic behavior, while a heat treatment gives much more ductility without compromising ultimate strength.

In dimensional inspection using coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), the following issues are critical to achieve accurate inspection while minimizing the cost and time: 1) How can we select the sampling positions of the measurements so that we can get as much information from a limited number of samples as possible and 2) given the limited number of measurements, how can we assess the form error so that one can reliably decide whether the product is acceptable? To address these problems, we propose a wavelet-based model that takes advantage of the fact that the Lipschitz regularity holds for the CMM data. Under the framework of the proposed model, we derive the optimal sampling positions and propose a systematic procedure to estimate the form error given the limited number of sampled points. The proposed method is validated using both synthetic and real CMM data sets for straightness measurements. The comparison with other existing methods demonstrates the effectiveness of our method.Note to Practitioners-This paper was motivated by the problem of measuring a machined part and assessing the part compliance with tolerance specifications in dimensional inspection using CMMs. In coordinate measurements, there is an important tradeoff between the number of inspected points and inspection time. Therefore, it is important to determine optimal locations on the part to be inspected in order to gain maximum part information out of limited number of points. Given these limited number of measurement points, it is also important and challenging to decide the part acceptance reliably. This paper proposes a wavelet-based model for CMM measurements. The proposed model provides practitioners with the optimal sampling positions and the estimated form error given the sampled measurement points. While traditional methods often suffer from the underestimation of the form error, the proposed method estimates the form error unbiasedly with even a small number of measurements. The proposed method can be easily implemented using existing wavelet software packages. Even though this paper was motivated by issues that arise with CMM measurements, the methodology can be easily adapted to a wide range of industrial applications where taking measurements is expensive.